Police Out Of Health Care!
by Harm Reduction Victoria
 Over the past month we have witnessed a concerted effort on
the part of Victoria
city police to prevent people who use illicit drugs from accessing safer drug
use supplies in the 900 block of Pandora.
Many people who use this area have
already been impacted by the consequences of Victoria City Council’s recent
amendment to a bylaw that bans people from erecting shelters, vicious
poor-hating neighbours, and consistent and unrelenting police harassment.
Now the Pandora Pharmacy has been forced by Victoria Police to stop
handing out clean harm reduction supplies.
The bullying and intimidation tactics by the Victoria city police, specifically
Inspectors Jamie Pearce and John Ducker, must end!
The pharmacy in
question was a member of a provincial pilot project to encourage pharmacies to
distribute clean supplies. It operated this service out of an honest
desire to help those in need of such supplies.
Tuesday November 30th, City Hall,
4pmJoint Police Board/City Council Meeting
Dear Friends, HRV invites you to attend our monthly general meeting on Monday, Nov 29 at 7pm. The meeting will be held at 857 Caledonia,
directly across from the Victoria Police Department. Come and hear
what HRV is up to and how you can get involved!
This meeting will give
us a great chance to talk about our planned action the following
evening. Please come out on Tuesday Nov 30 to City Hall and bring your
friends! More details below; please forward this message on.
The Victoria Police
did not intervene through any application of law, because there is no law or
bylaw preventing the distribution of clean supplies in the 900 block of Pandora.
The police stopped the legitimate and critical distribution of these
needed services through bullying, harassment and intimidation.
Through the
misguided and ignorant assumption that "harm reduction" is a synonym
for disorder, crime, and chaos, the police have usurped powers rightly
belonging to agencies legitimately entrusted with delivering health care services. They are denying
this care to our society's most dispossessed and marginalized.
Please join Harm Reduction Victoria on Nov 30th at 4pm at City Hall to tell the
Police Board to get its hands out of health care!
www.harmreductionvictoria.ca
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